Aadhar and The Right to Privacy- 9 Judge Bench: Day 5 Arguments (Rakesh Dwivedi)

Mr Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the State of Gujarat, followed Mr Tushar Mehta on August 1st, 2017. He began by sketching out the three constitutional constructs proposed in the arguments so far: i) The Petitioners’ argument that privacy was implied under Article 21 as an element of due process, as per Maneka Gandhi; ii) Mr Sundaram… Read More

Aadhar and The Right to Privacy- 9 Judge Bench: Day 5 Arguments (Tushar Mehta)

Mr. Tushar Mehta, the Additional Solicitor General representing the Unique Identification Authority of India, followed Mr Sundaram on August 1st, 2017. He argued that the right to privacy was not a Fundamental Right and that Kharak Singh was good law. Mr. Mehta began with the observation that academic opinion was largely unanimous on the right to… Read More

Aadhar and The Right to Privacy- 9 Judge Bench: Day 2 Arguments (Sajan Poovayya)

Mr. Sajan Poovayya first addressed arguments on where the right to privacy resides contending that the right was an inherent and all pervading aspect of the Constitution and need not necessarily flow from one particular Article of the Constitution. He argued that a breach of the privacy right could impede multiple freedoms including that of speech, as… Read More

Aadhar and The Right to Privacy- 9 Judge Bench: Day 2 Arguments (Anand Grover)

Mr. Anand Grover followed Mr. Arvind Datar on Day 2 of the 9 Judge Bench of the Supreme Court on whether the right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India, 1950. Mr. Anand Grover began by noting that while English common law recognises a right against trespass of the body, American common… Read More

Aadhar and The Right to Privacy- 9 Judge Bench: Day 2 Arguments (Meenakshi Arora)

Ms. Meenakshi Arora began by surveying the case law over the years to show that such a right had already been recognized. She pointed out that Kharak Singh vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (1962) implicitly recognized the right to privacy when it relied on Wolf vs. Colorado (1949) to strike down Regulation 236(b) of the U.P. Police Regulations. The stray sentence in Kharak… Read More

Mr. Soli Sorabjee and Mr. Shyam Divan, followed Mr. Gopal Subramanium on Day 1 of the 9 Judge Bench hearing on whether the right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India, 1950. Mr. Soli Sorabjee sought the Court’s permission to submit a written note. He submitted that privacy is inalienable and crucial for the… Read More

Aadhar and The Right to Privacy – 9 Judge Bench: Day 1 Arguments (Arvind Datar)

Mr. Arvind Datar began his arguments by denying that MP Sharma & Ors. vs. Satish Chandra, District Magistrate, Delhi & Ors. (1954) or Kharak Singh vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (1962) held that the right to privacy is not a fundamental right. M.P. Sharma dealt with a challenge to search and seizure of incriminating documents from company offices under Article 19(1)(f)… Read More